Conveyancing is the transfer of property titles from the present owner to someone else. The process includes an exchange of contracts (equitable title passes) and the completion stage (legal title passes).



In England & Wales, this process is usually undertaken on behalf of the property buyer & sellers by a conveyancing solicitor (or property solicitor) although it is possible to undertake the process yourself. Under English & Welsh law, agreements are not considered legally binding until contracts have been exchanged. This can result in wasted expense & effort if either buyer or seller pulls out prior to exchange. In order to minimise this, Home Information Packs have been introduced (since August 2007) as a means of the property seller providing the information & thus saving the buyer the expense of undertaking local authority searches etc.

It is recommended to engage a solicitor who is regulated by The Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Costs & fees

Solicitor's fees can vary although are considered to be quite competitive in comparison to those charged in some other countries. Many will work on a fixed fee basis with additional charges to cover items such as BACS transfer fees and local authority searches.

Timescales

The process of property conveyancing will usually take up to 3 months depending on a number of factors which can include agreement to existing covenants, production of necessary guarantees for works undertaken (such as damp courses etc) and planning permission for extensions and release of funds by mortgage providers etc.

Gazumping

As acceptance of offers are not legally binding until the exchange of contracts, the act known as gazumping can occur when the property's seller withdraws from the sale process to accept a different (usually higher) offer from a 3rd party. More recently, the underhand practise of gazundering has developed which is the method of the buyer demanding a reduced price at the latter stages of buying a property. When the owner accepts the offer on a property, the buyer will usually not yet have commissioned a building survey nor will the buyer have yet had the opportunity to perform recommended legal checks. The offer to purchase is made "subject to contract" and thus, until written contracts are exchanged either party can pull out at any time. It can take as long as 10-12 weeks for formalities to be completed, and if the seller is tempted by a higher offer during this period it leaves the buyer disappointed and out-of-pocket.

Conveyancing in Scotland

The process of conveyancing works somewhat differently in Scotland than in England & Wales - primarily because contracts are exchanged at a much earlier stage of the process after the initial offer and once this is accepted by the seller, is legally binding. The contract is formed by missives which are letters between the solicitor on behalf of the buyer and seller of the property. Normally the contract is conditional on matters such as the seller being able to prove they are legally able to sell the property.

This method of early stage contracts means that gazumping is much rarer in Scotland than in England & Wales.